To Err Is Human
by Clairisant2000
Summary: A possible future after the baseball season AJ had with his daughter. This story has two endings because we simply couldn't decide which was the best one for it!
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: To Err Is Human

AUTHOR: Clairisant and Brenda

CLASSIFICATION: AJ/Mac

FEEDBACK: Always welcome.

CREDITS: A special thanks to our beta readers, Qupeydoll and Mary.

Chapter 1

Saturday, October 29, 2005

0925 EST

Wal-mart near Mac's apartment

Mac sighed in frustration as she stepped into the nearest Wal-mart to her apartment. She couldn't believe that she had ruined another coffee pot. It must be the third she had destroyed this year simply by being careless. She would be in a hurry in the morning and leave it on all day. Sometime during the course of the day the silly thing would boil dry and by the time she got home in the evening it would be ruined. This time had been particularly entertaining! When she picked up the pot it had exploded. Mac was just lucky she hadn't been hurt.

That was how she came to be in Wal-mart on a Saturday morning instead of being at home drinking coffee and doing her weeks worth of laundry. She stood there in front of the dozen or more makes of coffee pots trying to decide which one to get. Snorting to herself she wondered if they made one that had an idiot alert, or at least would turn itself off!

"Having trouble deciding on a coffee maker?" a familiar voice came from behind her.

It sounded a little like Admiral Chegwidden, but there was a strange accent to the voice she didn't recognize. Spinning around she saw a tall man in a baseball cap with collar length hair and a thick bushy mustache. Realizing it wasn't her former CO and just some curious passerby, she gave him a half smile and a little sigh. "Yeah, there's just too many to choose from."

"Well is it for yourself or a gift?"

"Why would that matter?" she asked with a puzzled frown between her brows.

"If it's a gift you would need to know the receiver's drinking habits before you could choose wisely. If it's for you then you already know that."

With a frustrated sigh she admitted, "It's for me."

"Then the question becomes why are you replacing your old one?" he held up his hand to tick off the possible reasons. His thumb came out and he said, "Your one at home is to big," his pointer came out next, "Your one at home is too small," then his middle finger came out, "Or your one at home quit working."

Grabbing his middle finger without thinking, between her thumb and forefinger, she said, "It's this one."

With a wicked gleam in his eye because she was still wiggling his middle finger, he replied, "Oh really?"

Mac sighed again realizing this handsome stranger was now flirting with her. Over the last several months she had come to an understanding about herself. Since Admiral Chegwidden's retirement she could admit her true feelings at last. She had decided that if she couldn't have the man she really wanted then she wouldn't have any at all. That was why she hadn't had a single date since her volatile break up with Clay.

So with a sad smile she let go of the stranger's finger and raised her hand to gently pat him on the cheek, saying, "I have a feeling that you're working up to asking me out." Her grin became a little wider at the look of surprise on his face. She wasn't sure if it was because she'd guessed his intentions or if it was because she'd had the audacity to voice it. "I have to tell you that if I said yes to you, it would only be because you remind me of someone I've loved for a long time but can't have, and that wouldn't be fair to you."

Capturing her hand against his cheek the man's eyes filled with warmth and compassion, he asked in hushed tones, "Someone you love?"

"Yes," she nodded sadly with unshed tears pooling in her eyes. "My former boss. I've loved him for nine years and now he's gone."

"Gone?" the man whispered.

"Oh, he's not dead or anything, he just retired and left town. I haven't seen him in months and you remind me so much of him…your size, and voice, and your kindness…so you can see why it wouldn't be fair of me to go out with you wishing you were him…"

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AJ stood there with Mac's hand caressing his cheek shocked down to his toes at her confession. She loved him? He didn't know what to do or say especially when it had dawned on him that she didn't recognize him when she had started her confession. She had confessed her love for him, AJ, thinking him a complete stranger!

His free hand reached up and lightly touched his mustache, longer hair, and baseball cap. His summer changes must be the reason she didn't know him, but what about his voice? Surely after all the time they had worked together she would recognize his voice. Then he remembered Francesca teasing him about picking up a bit of her Italian accent. She had claimed, with a giggle, that it sounded very strange mixed with his Texas drawl.

What should he do? Should he whip off his hat and tell her it was him? Or should he go home, shower, get a hair cut, and put the ball cap away, then go after her and confess he'd had the same feelings for her all these years?

Before he could make his decision Sarah, for that is how he had always thought of her in his private thoughts, looked up at him and spoke, "I know this is going to sound very odd, but many years ago the man you remind me of almost kissed me and I always regretted that he stopped…" she trailed off almost as if she were embarrassed to go on.

He took pity on her and finished her thought, "You want me to kiss you?" he questioned.

She sighed and started to back away, but he held her hand firmly against his cheek not letting her go. She smiled sadly and with her thumb she brushed his mustache, "It wouldn't really be the same, he didn't have a mustache."

"But you haven't seen him in a long time, or so you said."

"So you're suggesting that I pretend that he has grown one in the last few months?"

"Would it hurt so much to pretend?"

"I would be taking advantage of you."

"Not if you had my consent."

"You'd really let me kiss you knowing that I was pretending you were him?"

As AJ bent his head to kiss Sarah, he was almost paralyzed with fear. A man who had been in combat and faced death more times than he could count was afraid now that he was about to kiss the woman he loved for the very first time. How could he possibly put all that he felt for her into just this one kiss! He needed it to express all of the love he had for her, but here he was about to kiss her under false pretences. He was about to kiss Sarah with her thinking he was just some random stranger that had tried to pick her up in Wal-mart.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3 of alternate ending 1

Alternate Ending 1 Chapter 3

She didn't know him! Could he really kiss her after all these years? Would it be fair when he knew the truth and she didn't? When it came down to it though, he was still a man and he had to take this possibly once in a lifetime chance to kiss her. Then he was going home, cleaning up, and calling her for a date!

As their lips met, she sighed and called him AJ, at once his heart melted and he wanted to tell her the truth right there on the spot. But then he thought better of it. When he finally confessed his true feelings for her he wanted it to be somewhere private so if things progressed the way he hoped they would they would not regret being in a public place.

The kiss was not very long, and AJ didn't let it deepen much either. It was simply a pleasant first kiss. One that he wouldn't be ashamed of later when he told her it had been him that she had kissed in Wal-mart.

When AJ lifted his head, he looked down into her face and found that her eyes were still closed. It was as if she were still trying to see the man she loved rather than the stranger. Finally she opened her eyes and said, "Thank you, and by the way I like the mustache."

"Your AJ is one lucky man. You should tell him how you feel about him."

"How did you know his name?" she gasped.

"That was what you called me right before we kissed. Tell him how you feel."

"I couldn't! What if he was horrified or worse yet, laughed at me?"

"You'll never know until you try. Do you always want to wonder? And if he is as kind as you say, he won't be horrified or laugh. He would at the very least be honored, and at best you could find that he returns your feelings."

Not able to believe the words of the handsome stranger, Mac once again said, "Thank you, for the kiss and the advice. I will think about what you said." She turned and just grabbed the first coffee maker that she touched and was about to put it in her cart when he stopped her.

"I'd get this one, I think it better suits you," AJ told her placing a different model in her cart and taking the other one out.

"Thank you once again," she said and walked away.

"You're more welcome than you know, Sarah," he said as he watched her go. After finishing the shopping he had come to the store to do, AJ headed back to McLean. Once there he dropped into his regular barber shop and found the barber just finishing someone so he could get right in.

"Admiral Chegwidden!" Bill exclaimed when AJ removed his ball cap. "I didn't recognize you!"

"There seems to be a lot of that going around today," AJ chuckled.

Bill gave him a quizzical look, but when AJ failed to relate the story behind his comment, Bill got down to business. "So a cut and shave today?"

"No, actually I think I will keep the mustache. Just trim it up a bit and make it presentable. My…lady says she likes it."

"That's great! I didn't know you had a lady, this is the first time you've said anything about her," Bill fished for more information.

"She's not really mine yet. I just found out that she could be interested in me and I need to find a way to approach her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well we've been friends for years without a hint of anything more, but I recently and inadvertently discovered that she may have feelings for me."

"Then this is the perfect time of the year for you!"

"How so?" AJ inquired.

"It's Halloween weekend! What better time to disguise yourself as someone else and go after her?"

"I don't want to deceive her!" AJ protested.

"So don't. But at a costume party everyone feels a little freer to let their guards down and hide behind the character they are for the night. You wouldn't have to wear a mask so she didn't know it was you, all you need is enough of a change so she sees you in a different light, not as her old friend," Bill advised.

"That sounds like it just might work. Thanks I'll try it."

"Just promise to let me know how it all works out."

"Will do," AJ promised as Bill finished. Looking in the mirror, he liked what he saw. He looked the same and yet enough different that Sarah might just see him in that different light.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4 of alternate ending 1

Alternate Ending 1 Chapter 4

Once AJ arrived home he thought about what Bill his barber had said about a Halloween Party. He knew that Bud and Harriett's annual costume party was tonight; that was one of the reasons he had been in a hurry to arrive home today. He looked forward to the party each year to see what his staff…former staff would come up with in silly outfits. He was glad that Harriett had invited him again this year even though he was retired and no longer a part of the staff. Going to his closet knowing he'd have to develop a costume since he hadn't had time to rent one, he thought that with his mustache he would make a good cowboy.

He pulled out jeans, a western cut shirt, boots, and a corduroy jacket with patches on the sleeves, since he didn't own a Stetson he decided that his ball cap would do.

Mac had arrived at home still in a bit of a daze at what happened at Wal-mart. She went into her kitchen and began to unpack her new coffee maker that the stranger had picked out for her. As she thought of him her fingertips touched her lips lightly as she remembered the kiss. How she wished it had been AJ's lips on hers instead of the kind stranger. Could he possibly be right? That she should tell AJ how she felt about him?

Looking over the details of her new coffee maker she wondered how the stranger could have known her needs so well. It had a timer that could be set to allow the coffee to start to brew while she was still in bed or maybe in the shower, and there was also a sensor that turned it off if it was inactive for more than an hour! In addition, it held up to fourteen cups and the brew selector went from weak to extra strong! Mac wondered if he could read her mind about what she would have wanted, and then wondered if this was the same model that he owned. But she was happy with his choice it suited her well.

She washed all the parts and set up to brew for the morning. Knowing she still had several hours before she needed to get ready for Bud and Harriett's party, Mac regretfully decided that she should clean her apartment. It took her much longer than usual to do the simple tasks, because as she worked she would find her self thinking about the kiss from the stranger and wondered how AJ's would compare. It was hours later when she stopped in the middle of vacuuming because the thought had struck her. Would AJ would be at the party tonight?

A shiver ran through her and she wondered if she should bring up the kindly stranger to AJ. Glancing at the clock she realized that she would have to finish the cleaning tomorrow. It was time to get ready for the party. Putting away the vacuum she smiled as she got her costume out of the closet. She wondered if AJ were there he would approve of her choice.

Guests had already been arriving when Mac got to the Roberts' home. She giggled when Bud answered the door dressed as a Klingon. Mac was told that he was a Klingon from the classic series and not the Next Generation or newer and that was why she probably didn't realize who he was. She just nodded not having the heart to tell him that she hadn't known what he was because she didn't watch any of the Star Trek shows.

Jen Coates, who was dressed as the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, offered to take her coat when she got into the hall. Handing Jen her coat, she heard someone come up behind her. Turning she saw Harm looking her over from head to foot. He saw the aqua body suit that she had on and that all of her exposed skin was covered in aqua body paint and asked, "Mac are you supposed to be some Star Trek alien?" he asked with a frown.

A voice with a soft Texas drawl came from behind her, she closed her eyes as the words caressed her skin. She was so busy thinking, 'He was HERE!' she almost missed what he was saying. Forcing herself to concentrate, she heard him say, "Why Harm, it's clear she's an Aqua Marine!"

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5 of alternate ending 1

Alternate Ending 1 Chapter 5

Mac spun around with a pleased smile on her face, ready to thank AJ for "getting" her costume. Instead she saw the handsome stranger from Wal-mart standing there. There was the ball cap and the mustache, however his hair was shorter and his mustache had been trimmed, but the accent was different and the voice was AJ's when he was relaxed.

Before Mac could discover if it was the stranger from Wal-mart or AJ, Harm said, "Oh, I get it now Sir. But if you're a cowboy, how come you have a ball cap on?"

Never taking his eyes off Sarah's face, AJ replied, "You don't need to call me Sir since I'm retired. Make it AJ. I'm not a cowboy, I'm a baseball team owner!"

Horrified to realize that the handsome stranger and AJ Chegwidden were really one in the same, she was unable to face him and failing the fact that the floor would not open up and swallow her, Mac turned and raced upstairs as quickly as she could go. Knowing that the first door at the top of the stairs was the bathroom she tried to disappear inside with plans to lock the door behind her, but she found the door was already locked meaning someone was inside.

Moving to the second door she went in not caring where she was. Closing the door behind her there was just enough light in the nursery for her to see the oval mirror over the dresser. Going to stand in front of it, she berated herself saying, "How could you not know that the stranger you kissed in the middle of Wal-mart, for God's sake, was AJ? Then to go and confess that you've loved him for years!"

In the far corner of the nursery sat Harriett nursing one of the twins, she had looked up when Mac had come into the room, but before she could say anything Mac had gone to the mirror and started talking. Shocked at what she had heard, but still patting herself on the back because she had always known that Colonel Mackenzie had always had a soft spot in her heart for the Admiral, Harriett wondered what she should do. When Mac continued her self flagellation by saying, "Sarah Mackenzie you are SUCH a fool!"

Unable to remain quiet any longer, Harriett asked, "You kissed the Admiral in the middle of Wal-mart?"

"OH!" Mac exclaimed as she spun around from the mirror and saw her friend sitting in the rocking chair, "Harriett you startled me! I thought I was alone!"

Burping the baby, Harriett got up and put her in the crib, "I'm sorry I startled you, but I couldn't believe what I'd heard!"

"If you couldn't believe it, how do you think I feel? I don't think I'll be able to ever face him again!"

"He's downstairs? I've been up here nursing the twins, but don't worry I'll go down and talk to him for you!" Harriett offered as she sailed out the door, leaving Mac in the middle of the room with her mouth open.

AJ had finally gotten away from the group downstairs and their questions, he was now heading upstairs to look for Sarah. He figured he'd find her locked in the bathroom hiding from him. He was not expecting to meet Harriett coming down the stairs.

She grabbed him by the arm and in an insistent voice said, "We need to talk!" She dragged him along behind her, back down the stairs he had just climbed and into the den. Closing the pocket doors behind them, she turned to face him with a glare, "I hear that the specials at Wal-mart were a little more special than usual today!"

"You've been talking to Sarah, Harriett…I need to go and find her," he said as he walked towards the door.

"About face, Sailor! You're not going anywhere until we talk!"

Spinning on his heel he turned to look at her with shock on his face.

"She's not in any condition to talk to you right now. I am so disappointed in you! I had always thought you better than that!"

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6 of alternate ending 1

Alternate Ending 1 Chapter 6

"Harriett what did she tell you?" he wondered, afraid of what the answer would be.

"She said you kissed her under false pretenses. How could you deceive her like that?"

"At first I didn't know she didn't recognize me. I didn't think I had changed that much over the summer."

"Even with that mustache I'd know you anywhere!"

"My hair was longer and the mustache was bushier."

"But how could she not know your voice?"

"I still had a trace of the Italian accent I'd picked up from Francesca."

"But why didn't you tell her who you were before you kissed her?"

"It wasn't right I know, but my plan was one brief kiss and then I was going to go home and clean up and start courting her."

"Well it's about time you admitted you loved her?"

"WHAT?"

"Oh give me a break AJ! I've known how the two of you felt about each other for years. It's about time you got your head out of your sixes and admitted it!"

Shaking his head with his hands on his hips and asked, "Does Clayton Webb know what he's missing by not having you on his staff?"

Harriett snorted and said, "Like I'd want to work for him after I'd had the best boss in the world. Now go tell her how you feel!"

With a happy grin on his face, he started for the door once again as Harriett threw after him, "By the way, I like the mustache. I think I'll insist on Buddy grow one."

Meanwhile, during this conversation, Mac was once again upstairs talking to herself, 'How could I have been such a fool? I should have known there wasn't another man in the world that much like AJ. But once he'd realized that I didn't know him why didn't he say something? He's a SEAL; he couldn't have been "in shock". His kissing must have been deliberate. So why did he do it?'

She stood there considering the options for a while and then it hit her! 'Well, duh, Mackenzie! You had just confessed you were in love with him; he kissed you out of pity! Oh God I'll never be able to face him again. I've got to get out of here before he comes looking for me.' Leaving the nursery she headed for the back stairs, which would take her down to the kitchen and allow her to escape out the back door.

Taking the stairs two at a time AJ reached the top just in time to see Sarah heading for the back stairs. Glad he'd kept up his jogging he raced down the hall after her, calling out, "Sarah, wait!" He was just a bit surprised when she glanced back over her shoulder and then turned and started running like the demons of hell were chasing her. He caught up to her in the kitchen and grabbing her shoulder spun her around to face him.

Trying to jerk her arm out of his grip, she cried, "Let me go!"

As he noticed for the first time the tears streaming down her cheeks, he asked, "Why are you running from me?"

"Because I don't need your offer of pity!"

"That wasn't what I wanted to offer you. The many times I imagined saying this to you, I never once imagined doing it in the Roberts' kitchen…"

"Whatever it is, say it and get over with so I can get out of here!"

"If you want to get out of here that bad, maybe we could go somewhere else and talk?"

Mac snarled, "I said all I had to say to a stranger at Wal-mart!"

"Good!" he told her with a cocky grin, "Then you can just listen! Your only choice is, your place or mine!"

Figuring to have a home-court advantage would be strategically in her favor, and knowing that ultimately AJ was always a gentleman and would leave if she insisted, Mac said with a grumble, "Well, I guess my place then."

"Then let's go," still having a hold on her arm he led her out the door.

"My coat!" she exclaimed.

"We're not going back in there for it. Here take my jacket." Wrapping it around her shoulders, he led her out to her 'Vette, he said, "I'll be right behind you. Don't go anywhere but your place."

"That sounded like a threat AJ."

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7 of alternate ending 1

Alternate Ending 1 Chapter 7

"After all the time we've waited to say these things to each other, I just don't want anything to hinder us now," AJ said.

"What things?" Mac questioned.

"I'll tell you at your apartment," he closed her door and walked to his Escalade without waiting for her to start her vehicle.

Sighing she started the 'Vette and as her arm moved to turn the key she caught a whiff of his aftershave. With a groan she cuddled into his jacket and wondered what AJ had to say to her in private. Couldn't he just tell her what a fool she was and allow her to go home and cry in miserable solitude?

Mac arrived home and catching sight of herself in a mirror still in her aqua body paint decided to wash it off. She was drying her hands and face when the doorbell rang. Reluctantly opening the door, she found AJ standing there. "May I come in, Sarah?"

"I doubt I could stop you!"

Walking inside AJ said, "As cute as your costume is, I much prefer seeing your beautiful face."

"You can stop with the flowery words and let's get to the matter at hand."

"Well, Sarah, I'm sorry I deceived you at Wal-mart, but I couldn't believe how you truly felt about me."

"I think we've said all that we need to about that subject. You said at Bud and Harriett's that you had something to tell me, could you just please do that and then leave?" she pleaded trying to keep her tears at bay.

"If that's what you want, Sarah," he replied softly. "What I wanted to tell you was, that I love you," with that he turned and walked back to the door, opening it he started to leave.

"WAIT!" she cried.

"Yes Sarah?" he asked standing in her doorway, but not turning around to come back.

"What did you just say?"

"I said 'I love you'."

"How can you just say that and walk out?" she demanded.

"Because you asked me to say what I needed to and then leave. I was doing what you wanted."

"But I didn't know you were going to say THAT!"

"So you're saying that you don't want me to leave now?"

"Yes that's what I'm saying. Please come back in."

"Are you sure, Sarah?" he asked playing with her just a bit. "I wouldn't want to do anything you didn't really want me to."

Taking him by the hand, she pulled him back into the room, "Oh get back in here!" she insisted.

"Why, Sarah? Why do you want me to come back?" he asked.

"Because I want you to say that to me again…Please…"

"I love you, Sarah Mackenzie and I have for years," AJ told her looking directly into her eyes with all the love in his heart shining from his.

"I just can't believe I'm hearing this!"

"Why, Sarah? You said that you loved me, why is it so hard to believe that I could have the same feelings in return for you?"

"Because you'd never given any indication of your feelings!"

"Actually I can remember a few occasions, but if by your logic that were true, then I guess I shouldn't believe that you love me either."

"But I do!" she protested pacing around the room.

"Then why won't you believe that I love you, Sarah?"

"I want to," she whispered stopping in the middle of the room to look at him.

AJ couldn't think of anything else to do but open his arms to her and was so grateful when she ran into them.

"Oh, AJ, am I dreaming?"

"Forgive me, Sarah," he said with a grin.

"For what?" she asked innocently.

He didn't answer her with words, he just reached out and lightly pinched her.

"Ouch!" Mac exclaimed, rubbing the spot on her arm, "You pinched me!"

"Isn't that the usual response to 'Am I dreaming'?" he teased.

"I would rather have had you kiss me," she pouted.

"But then you might have still thought you were dreaming. I know that kiss at Wal-mart was like a dream come true for me," he told her as his arms drew her closer to him.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8 of alternate ending 1

Alternate Ending 1 Chapter 8

Turning her head up to look into his amazing chocolate brown eyes Mac finally saw the love there that she had always dreamed of seeing. She wrapped her arms around AJ's neck and pulled his head down to hers, "I love you, AJ, and I want you to kiss me as you, not as some stranger…"

"I did kiss you as me in the store, Sarah. But I will gladly spend the rest of my life kissing you any time you want me too."

"The rest of your life?"

"Yes, if you will have me…"

"You mean…"

"Ever the lawyer, Sarah, needing everything spelled out…" he said with an indulgent sigh. "Yes, I know we haven't dated and I haven't courted you, and believe me I am willing to give you all the time you need, but I want you to know that my heart's desire is to have you as my wife one day, if you'll have me."

"I've hoped for so long to hear those words," she said as she deliberately stepped out of his arms again. "However, I'll be damned if I let you pinch me again!"

"Would you let me kiss you instead?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

With a happy smile she eagerly moved back into his arms. "Since I've never been courted before I think I'm going to wait to tell you how often I've dreamed of being your wife, but just so you don't worry to much I'm pretty sure when you do get around to asking me, my answer will be 'yes'."

He chuckled and told her, "That's a load off my mind!" As his head lowered and he captured her lips in a kiss that was tender yet passionate, gentle and yet overpowering enough to weaken her knees. He simply took her breath away. She unbuttoned his shirt as he was repeatedly running his hands up and down her back. Mac enjoyed the feel of this until she realized that he wasn't just rubbing her back he was searching for something! He was searching for a way to get the body suit off of her!

Concealing an evil grin she decided to let him keep looking in retaliation for the pinch he had given her earlier. As she pulled his shirt out of his pants and slid it off of his shoulders she realized that he was getting frustrated at not finding a way into her body suit. Mac ran her hands over his chest enjoying the feeling of the muscles there. She wondered just how long it would take him to figure out there were no buttons or zipper in her outfit.

As she reached for the snap of his jeans his hands stopped her and he growled, "Damn it, Sarah, how do I get you out of this thing?"

"Before I answer that question, I have one of my own…"

With his fists firmly planted on his hips and a frown on his face, he demanded, "What?"

"Are you staying for breakfast?"

His frown turned into a look of shock, then became a lecherous gleam, "Oh HELL yeah!"

"Then I'll need to add water and grounds to my new coffee maker!" she replied and turned to go into the kitchen.

He followed her and allowing her to finish her task then swept her up into his arms and carried her into her bedroom, closing the door behind them with a push of his foot.

The End


	9. Chapter 3 of alternate ending 2

Alternate Ending 2 Chapter 3

Authors Note: At this point if you don't remember chapters 1 and 2 you might want to go back and reread them.

Their lips were almost touching when AJ realized that he couldn't do that, so he answered her question by saying, "Yes, Sarah," and brought their lips into contact. The kiss was tentative at first, they were both exploring, testing, tasting.

Mac was reacting to the tickle of the man's mustache. His breath was clean, that was a big plus, his lips were soft, but firm, his mouth didn't devour her, it was tender and exploring, his tongue gently traced her lips, politely asking for entrance. As her mind's eye pictured AJ instead of the stranger she gladly parted her lips and allowed the man she loved in. Their tongues met shyly at first, slowly touching and then sliding against each other.

As the intensity of the kiss rose, neither of them was aware of the reaction of other Wal-mart patrons. The young man who 'hooted' and said, "Go man!" The little old lady that snorted and stuck her nose into the air, then huffing, "Some people!" Or the two teenage girls that just stood there watching and sighing. No, the two lost in the kiss saw or heard none of that.

Mac's hand left his cheek and wrapped around the back of his neck, it was joined by her other hand so she could pull him closer to her.

AJ's arms wrapped around her waist almost lifting her off her feet as he to tried to bring her closer to him. He couldn't help himself, he had the woman he loved in his arms and he felt himself start to harden. He tried as hard as he could to keep himself under control, but it wasn't happening. Because they were plastered together there was no way she couldn't feel it happening.

Mac was not really surprised to feel his erection pressing against her, and if only this had really been AJ she would have been so happy for that reaction. But this man wasn't AJ and even though he had called her 'Sarah' as she had always wanted AJ to do, this man…wait a minute! She hadn't told this man her name! So how did he know? A feeling of dread as she began to analyze… He was as tall as AJ. He sounded like AJ, except for an odd accent. His shoulders were as broad as AJ's. Those warm kind considerate chocolate brown eyes were like AJ's. Good God! Could this BE AJ?

He didn't want the kiss to end, but both of them needed air to breathe before they passed out in the aisle. Slowly reluctantly he raised his head.

Both were gasping as their eyes met, taking her courage in her hands, she said, "AJ?" as she reached up to remove his ball cap.

"Yes, Sarah," he said softly taking the cap from her and putting it in his back pocket.

"You sound so different," she stated in puzzled voice.

With a wry smile he said, "Yes, Francesca teased me about picking up her Italian accent."

"Oh…then it really IS you!" Mac exclaimed as she began to back away from him.

Reaching out he caught her hand and said, "Yes it's me…why are you leaving?"

"I'm so sorry! I embarrassed you. I would never have said those things if I'd known it was you!"

"Then I'm glad that you didn't know!"

"Why? Why would you say that?"

"Because I've always had feelings for you too Sarah. I just never could act on them because of regulations."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Is that what my kiss said to you?"

"But the kiss was just because I asked you to! You were just being kind to a pitiful lovesick fool!"

"And why I almost kissed you all those years ago?"

She couldn't think of a reason for that 'almost kiss'. She stood there looking into his eyes trying to read the truth there. What she saw shocked her! She saw the same look that stared back at her from the mirror whenever she thought of him.

"What do you see, Sarah?"

Still unsure and afraid to be wrong, she decided to try and distract him. "Why do you call me, Sarah?"

"Because that's who lives in my heart. Colonel Mackenzie was my Chief of Staff. Mac was my friend…" he hesitated to finally reveal his heart to her, just a bit unsure himself…but then he remembered how this all started and continued, "But Sarah was my love…the woman I could never have, but who would always fill my heart."

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 4 of alternate ending 2

Alternate Ending 2 Chapter 4

"You could have had me anytime you wanted me!" Mac exclaimed.

"How was I to know that, Sarah? You were as good at keeping your feelings a secret as I was."

"All these years…if we had only…"

"Broken regulations?" AJ asked when she trailed off.

"No, that wouldn't have been right for either of us." Looking around and realizing they were still in the middle of the store, she asked, "What should we do now?"

"Why don't we finish up our shopping and then go somewhere we can talk?"

She shyly nodded, the look in his eyes was something she had always dreamed of seeing and now that she was, she was unsure how to handle it. Shopping would give her some time to get a handle on things.

Pulling a model of coffee maker off the shelf and putting it in her cart he said, "Let me recommend this one, it has a timer so you can set it to start brewing before you are up or when you are in the shower and a sensor so if you forget to turn it off it will do that itself, it also makes up to fourteen cups at a time and has a very strong setting on brew selection."

"Wow you read my mind, that's exactly what I need! How did you know?"

"We're more alike than you know, Sarah. That's the same one I have at home."

"Oh," she sighed softly. With a smile she told him that was all she had come for and asked what it was he was shopping for since his cart was still empty.

"Actually I just flew in this morning and stopped here to get groceries. McLean doesn't have a super Wal-mart yet."

"Well then let's go and get your groceries."

"But if we're going to your place to talk then I have to unload the perishables so they won't spoil and then when I am ready to go, load them back up again to take them home. It might be better if I just waited to get them until I was actually going home."

Disappointed that she wouldn't have a little time to adjust to the situation, she sighed and said, "Well then I guess we can leave now."

With an understanding smile he said, "I think our talk will take some time. Why don't you stop and pick us up a pizza for lunch while I pick up a few things to throw together for dinner? If that is alright with you, Sarah?"

"That's fine," she sighed in relief. It would also give her a few minutes to race home and do a mad dash to clean it while she waited for a pizza to be delivered.

As AJ shopped for special things to make Sarah for dinner, he found himself whistling. He received a broad smile from the check out clerk and an offer of her phone number. With a feeling of shock at her boldness, he politely declined, telling her that he was taken. Or at least he hoped that by the end of the night that statement would be true.

Carrying the groceries down the hallway to Sarah's apartment, AJ knocked on the door and waited for her to open it. After an unusually long wait the door swung open with the breathless Sarah motioning him inside. Just as she closed the door behind him the doorbell rang. Turning to watch her go back to the door, he asked, "Were you expecting someone else?"

"No it's probably just the pizza. I had it delivered."

"But I thought that you were going to pick it up on the way home?"

Thinking quickly she told the first lie that came to mind, "I couldn't wait to get home and plug in my new coffee maker!"

Hiding a grin behind a cough he gently asked, "Oh, you mean the one still here on your coffee table?"

"Yes, well I got a phone…okay you caught me I raced home to clean up a bit! There are you happy?" she sighed.

"Sarah, you didn't have to go to any special trouble for me. I don't care if you dust or not, I just want to talk about what you said to me in the store."

"I didn't have time to dust, I was picking up the laundry that I had sorted this morning in the middle of the living room floor!" she admitted with a blush.

"Oh I see," he laughed at the thought of arriving amid piles of her under things. A tempting thought indeed.

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 5 of alternate ending 2

Alternate Ending 2 Chapter 5

Placing the groceries next to Mac's new coffee maker AJ gently bumped her aside at the door and paid the delivery boy for the pizza, the entire time ignoring her protests that he had bought the food for dinner and the least she could do was pay for lunch!

"What a stubborn man you can be at times!" she declared.

Giving her a blank stare for just a second, AJ suddenly burst into laughter. He was so tickled at her statement that soon tears were streaming down his face and he was holding his sides.

"WHAT is so funny?" Mac demanded.

"YOU calling ME stubborn!" he managed to gasp out!

"You think I'm stubborn?"

"No, Sarah…I KNOW you're stubborn!"

"Oh…" she wasn't quite sure whether to be happy or upset with him for knowing her so well, and then she realized that she liked the fact that he did know her inside out. "I guess we're two of a kind then."

"Yes we are, and once I get these things in the kitchen I'd like to talk about some of the other things that we have in common." AJ walked away as she stood there wondering how this day would end. Then when she could finally move again she carried the pizza to the table and followed him to the kitchen to find out what he wanted to drink with lunch.

Taking the sodas, plates and forks into the table, they sat across from each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. They laughed nervously when both of them reached for the box at the same time and AJ, always the gentleman, told her she should go first.

"Would you like to begin our talk now? Or eat first?" he asked her softly as she took two slices and placed them on her plate.

"I'm not sure that I can eat, wondering about what is waiting to be said," she replied.

"Then I guess the pizza can wait and we should talk first.'

"I just want you to know that I never would have said what I did if I had really thought it was you. Please believe me," she pleaded.

"Just answer me one question Sarah."

"Anything," she told him.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"Not until ten years ago I didn't."

"You've been in my heart since the first time I saw you, and my love has only grown over the years."

"I loved you for that long too."

"Then there is no need to be embarrassed at what happened at Wal-mart today. It's given us the chance to reveal our feelings for each other, and I'm grateful for that."

"Then I guess I'm glad that I mistook you for a stranger…"

"If I had but known that a bit of a disguise was all it took to find out how you felt, then I would have made that party at my home all those years ago, a costume party!"

"If you had only kissed me then, we wouldn't have needed costumes," she sighed.

"Yes, but I was bound by regulations…"

"I know, and you'll never know how often I damned those regulations."

"Yes I will because I've done it so often myself. But now I'm free and clear of them and I can openly tell you that you are my reason for living and there is not a day that goes by that you aren't in my thoughts. Even Francesca became tired of hearing your name. She advised me on several occasions to come after you!"

"I always thought Francesca was a wise woman!" she smiled shyly at him.

"And what would you have done if I had called you out of the blue and asked you on a date?" he questioned.

"Well after I had recovered from my shock, I would have said yes!"

"Then will you consider dating me, Sarah? I know we've known each other for a long time, but I would like to get to know you in a more personal way."

"Personal or intimate?" she asked in a seductive tone.

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 6 of alternate ending 2

Alternate Ending 2 Chapter 6

"There is nothing that I would like more than to someday soon be intimate with you. But I don't want to rush things. You're much too important to me to want to take a chance on spoiling things by rushing them."

"I can always count on you to be a gentleman, even if there were times I wish you wouldn't be!" she sighed. "But I guess if you want us to 'date' then what about going with me to Bud and Harriett's costume party tonight?"

"Are you sure that you want to 'go public', as it were, so soon?" he asked still a bit unsure of her.

"I don't know how much more 'public' we could go than the middle of an isle at Wal-mart!" she giggled.

Laughing he agreed with her, but sadly told her that he didn't have a costume lined up and that on Halloween weekend he was sure it would be too late to rent one.

With a smirk she got up and ran to her bedroom, he could hear several drawers opening and closing as she searched for something, then came running back into the room with something white and silky in her hands. "Chloe gave me this a few years ago when they were in, but she got it two sizes too big so I never wore it. You could be a pirate in it!" she told him holding out the shirt.

Taking it from her hands he held it up to himself and regretfully realized that it would fit. "Try it on!" Mac insisted and started to unbutton the shirt that he had on for him. Once he had the shirt on he saw that it had no buttons, just a leather piece that laced up the top half of the shirt. Mac looking him over yanked the leather out of the shirt and told him to sit down. When he did she tied it around the hair he had let grow longer than he'd ever had before. "Now you really look the part!" she told him.

"But the shirt doesn't close then, Sarah!" he protested.

"That is so the ladies will enjoy your costume too!" she giggled. "But remember that if you go with me you come home with me, buster!"

"Home with you, Sarah?" he questioned softly.

"Yes, I would love for you to come home with me after the party, AJ. I know that you don't want to rush things, but we have waited so long to be together and I could never be more sure of anything than I am of how I feel about you. Would you stay the night with me tonight?"

"Oh, Sarah, how you tempt me. Are you sure that is what you want, darling?"

"Didn't I say I was never more sure of anything in my life? Yes, I want you more than I can say and I don't think that's ever going to change."

"Then I am going to hope that this is the shortest party on record!"

Giggling she told him, "I could always call Harriett and tell her I was sick."

"Yes that's a good plan… but knowing how Harriett is, she will be over here while her party is going on feeding you chicken soup!" AJ laughed.

"Then we'll go and just not stay long. Is that a plan?"

"That sounds fine."

The two of them spent the afternoon going over all of the times they remembered of their years together. Things that had made them love the other more and more as the time passed. Both were surprised at how many of the memories they shared were common ones.

Reactions from their friends were varied, but all seemed pleased for them. Harriett insisted that she had known all along that they were in love and Bud confirmed that she had told him that many times over the years!

The party went well and even though they didn't stay long, Mac did manage to embarrass him a few times by running her hand over the opening in the front of his shirt. However when she did that same thing in the Escalade on the way back to her apartment, his reaction was one of arousal instead of embarrassment.

Leading him into the apartment Mac asked AJ to set up the new coffee maker for morning while she washed off the body paint from her "Aqua Marine" costume. "You know how I like it!" she called out to him as she entered the bedroom.

"No, but I hope to know that before morning!" he called back at her as he set the brew setting for extra strong.

THE END


End file.
